Sinn Féin Housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin TD has called on the Minister for Housing to intervene and ensure that Dublin Fire Brigade’s fire safety standards are protected.

This follows the revelations in yesterdays Sunday Business Post which indicated that almost 75% of appeals to An Bord Pleanála against conditions applied by Dublin Fire Brigade have been completely overturned or had their key conditions changed.

Deputy Ó Broin said:

“Yesterday Barry J Whyte in the Sunday Business Post outlined how after analysing fire safety documents over the past three years almost 75% of appeals to An Bord Pleanála against conditions applied by Dublin Fire Brigade have been completely overturned or had their key conditions changed.

“It would seem that Dublin Fire Brigade is being constantly challenged on the conditions they apply to a planning application by developers who have labelled their fire safety conditions as ‘unduly onerous’, ‘unduly restrictive’ and goes beyond what could be deemed a ‘reasonable requirement’.

“What is truly concerning when reading the article is that the fire safety regulations seem to be out of date, ten years out of date in some instances.

“This inhibits Dublin Fire Brigade from doing its job and leaves planning loopholes open to abuse by penny pinching developers.

“This vacuum allows interested third parties such as IBEC and IRES to lobby the Minister on their perspectives.

“I have written to Minister Murphy asking him to make a statement on the revelations in the Sunday Business Post and if he will make urgent moves towards updating the fire safety regulations.”